


The White Rabbit

by roxashighwind



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Future Fic, Gen, Paige and Henry are at least 17, writing her as Paige because that came out first and I decided to stick with it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-06
Updated: 2013-07-06
Packaged: 2017-12-17 21:34:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/872192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roxashighwind/pseuds/roxashighwind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Henry and Paige get out of Storybrooke to get her an unbirthday present: a white rabbit that will never fall apart or get lost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The White Rabbit

Paige bites hard at her lower lip to stifle a whimper of pain. She does her best not to flinch, and takes slightly shuddery breaths through her nose to try and push her focus away from how much it hurt. Her brow creases as she squeezes her eyes shut tight, corners a bit wet.

A warm hand closes over one of her fists, coaxing her fingers to unclench. “Hey... Focus on me, okay?”

She wraps her fingers around his hand, squeezing as the pain gets worse. “Henry... It hurts.” It comes out as a tight whine. “Ow.”

“Focus on your boyfriend, sweetie. It’ll be over soon.”

Paige’s eyes pop open at that and she almost jerks on the table. “We’re not-” She cuts herself off so that she’ll hold still and not mess up the artist’s work.

Henry squeezes her hand. “We’re not dating,” he says carefully, finishing the sentence for Paige. “Just friends.” He smiles at the tattoo artist as she continues working, bent over Paige’s side.

“Sorry for assuming.” The artist laughs as she pulls away from Paige’s side, the constant buzz of the tattoo machine falling to silence as she sets it down. “You’re doing really good, Paige,” she says as she wipes gently at her ribs with a paper towel dampened with antiseptic wash.

“How much longer?” asks Paige, breath evening out now that the pain isn’t constant. She doesn’t move, just keeps holding Henry’s hand in hers as she lies on her side.

“Not long! If you’d like to take a look, the outline’s all finished.” She turns the paper towel inside out to get to the clean side. “Let me clean it up just a little more.” Her movements are careful as she wipes the paper towel over the reddened skin. “There ya go, take a look.”

Henry helps Paige sit up and angles her toward the mirror on the wall nearby. He likes what it looks like so far, and hopes that it lives up to what Paige saw in her mind. “What do you think?”

Her eyes widen as they land on the outline of her tattoo. The stretched out form of a leaping rabbit spreads from just under her bust to a little below the bend of her natural waist along her ribs. The words “Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t” circle the animal like a frame. Paige’s mouth falls open, just a little.

“Oh! Oh it’s absolutely perfect!” She squeezes Henry’s hand again, practically bouncing. “What do you think, Henry?”

He grins at his friend. “Fits you great.”

“Ready for the shading?” The artist gestures at the table. “Shouldn’t take too long.”

Paige lies back down carefully, grabbing Henry’s with both of hers as she settles on the table. “I think I’m ready.”

The artist laughs lightly and finishes preparing the tattoo machine, setting out the grey and white ink as she goes. “Remember to breathe.” She tests the power to the machine with a quick tap of her foot. “What inspired the tattoo, Paige?”

“Oh... My father made me a little stuffed rabbit when I was a kid. It feels like a lifetime ago, and the rabbit’s been falling apart for ages. I don’t want to go to college without it, but I don’t know if it will actually make the trip.” Anything Paige wants to say next cuts off when the needles meet her skin again. Her grip on Henry’s hand tightens to almost crushing.

“So it’s for your dad? That’s sweet.” The artist works quietly for a minute or two, shading the rabbit to give it more life. “This is one of my favorite lines from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

Paige flushes and forces herself to breathe. “It’s always s-stuck out to me.”

“I gave her the book in middle school. She devoured it.” Henry grins. He sweeps his thumb along the back of her hand, trying to distract her from the pain.

“Lewis Carroll had quite a way with words.” She works carefully along the rabbit’s body, wiping at excess ink every now and then.

“Henry... Henry’s got a way with words, too,” Paige says softly. She moves her head back to look up at him with a small smile. It turns to a wince as the tattoo artist works over a tender part of her ribs.

“Oh really? Are you a writer, Henry?”

Henry feels his cheeks grow warm. “I’d like to be a novelist at some point. Children’s books, mostly, but any sort of writing would be cool. I also want to be a knight, but there’s not much call for that nowadays.” He shrugs.

Paige can’t stifle the giggle that escapes her, but she manages to hold still. “Henry is quite handy with a sword. His mother and grandfather have been giving him lessons since he was ten.”

“Runs in the family,” Henry responds with a shrug. He looks down at Paige’s side. “It’s looking really good.”

The artist grins. “Why thank you. Great designs inspire great work. Just a little longer and we can get it cleaned and bandaged.” She goes back to work and the light conversation continues. It comes out that she was planning on being a veterinarian before the tattoo bug bit her and that she still works at a shelter and vet clinic on top of tattooing. Any tattoos with animals tend to be her favorite, because she likes working on them the most.

When she’s finally let off the table for the last time, Paige can’t stop staring at the tattoo on her side. She’ll have the white rabbit with her forever, and her cheeks are going to start hurting with how much she’s smiling. She holds still as she’s cleaned one last time and ointment is rubbed into the tattoo. A sheet of plastic wrap gets taped over the whole thing and she has to refrain from touching it.

“Okay, in a couple hours, you’re going to want to take the plastic off and wash it with an antibacterial soap. It’s going to be tender, so be careful not to scratch or anything. After you get it all washed up, pat it dry with a soft towel or some paper towel and let it air for a little bit.” The artist is pointing things out on a sheet of paper as she talks.

“Aquaphor is one of the best ointments to use during the healing process. Work a very light layer into the tattoo - you don’t want it to be wet, just enjoy to keep the tattoo from drying out completely. It’ll scab over in a day or two. Don’t pick at the scabs.” She smiles and points out a few more things on the list, and offers a free touch up in a couple months, just in case it’s needed.

“Thank you so much!” Paige darts forward and wraps her arms around the artist. “I love it, and I’ll definitely come in and let you see it when it’s all healed.” She lets go and smiles wide. “Thank you,” she says again, a little calmer.

They pay for the tattoo and head out of the shop with a smile and wave (and another “thank you” from Paige). Henry slides into the driver’s side of a beat up yellow VW Beetle after holding the passenger door open for Paige.

“What are you going to tell your dad?” he asks as he pulls into traffic.

Paige bites her lip and thinks before answering. “He’ll see it eventually. I think he’ll be okay with it. I hope.”

Henry nods and reaches over to grab her hand again. “I think he’ll like it, when he gets over the shock of it. You’re the last person anyone in Storybrooke would expect to get a tattoo.”

“Not everything is as it is expected to be,” she replies. She laughs and turns her attention back to the road. “We should get something to eat.”

They bicker over where to go in that easy way that best friends have.


End file.
